I have a humble staple of credits cards early in my financial history including the MC Dividends 5% and Visa US Bank Cash+.

My question regards AFs. These two cards (Dividends and Cash+) have no annual fee and I am interested in the AMEX Green and Blue Cash Preferred, which DO have AFs.

The reason I like the Green is because of the sole reason of building a relationship with AMEX and the BCP because of the 6% on groceries but I already get 5% at restaurants and 2% on groceries with the Cash+.

Is it worth paying the annual fee when there are other excellent cards out there with other financial institutions like MC and Visa?

The requirements and underwriting on the Amex charge cards are pretty much the same. You could even get a PRG or Platinum if you wanted instead of the Green if you wanted something with more benefits, albeit a much higher annual fee.

Did you also look at the Sallie Mae MC from Barclays? That card has no annual fee but you get 5% cashback on the first 250 dollars of gas and groceries and the first 750 dollars of book and Amazon purchases you spend each month. I think that card might be a worthy alternative.

solomon wrote:Is it worth paying the annual fee when there are other excellent cards out there with other financial institutions like MC and Visa?

First of all, worth is always highly subjective regardless of topic so there isn't just one answer to your question. Even if you don't know the answer to your question with some logic you can reason that many of people do find AmEx cards worthwhile or else AmEx wouldn't be in business.

Second, crunch the numbers to help you determine if it's worth it to you. You should have an idea of what your category spend is and what rewards you stand to earn. Spend varies from person to person. The Sallie Mae suggested above is better suited for certain levels of category spend. For very high levels of category spend the old Blue Cash may be a better fit.

I don't see how you've narrowed it down to "AF versus MC/Visa". There are plenty of MC's and Visas with AF's as well. Again, plenty of people do find AmEx's with (and without) AF's to be worthwhile. We can't tell you where you stand on the matter unless you can give us more details such as your spend levels in the relevant categories.

If you still can't be bothered to do the math then dig around on myFICO. There's a comparison chart posted to a number of threads that you can reference.

solomon wrote:but I already get 5% at restaurants and 2% on groceries with the Cash+.

If you can spend enough to offset the annual fee and come ahead in rewards as compared to the no AF version then it's a no brainer. Also if you think $95 for a relationship with amex is worth it that is a very valid reason. I'm paying $95 for a diners club card that I don't really need but think I will need in a the future. Since they tend to pull the ability to app for it (and have already) I hopped on it the moment I could.

solomon wrote:The reason I like the Green is because of the sole reason of building a relationship with AMEX and the BCP because of the 6% on groceries but I already get 5% at restaurants and 2% on groceries with the Cash+.

Why would you want the Green just to build relationship with Amex if you are already getting another Amex (BCP)?

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests

†Advertiser Disclosure
The credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card issuers from which CreditCardForum.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including the order in which they may appear within listing categories. CreditCardForum.com does not include all credit card offers that might be available to consumers in the marketplace.

Editorial Disclosure Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

User Generated Content Disclosure Forum member posts, comments and responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser.
Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank
advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or
questions are answered.